Tap & Go technology at Queenstown Airport

Media release from Queenstown Airport
Friday 7 July 2017

Visitors to Queenstown Airport to benefit from convenient new Tap & Go technology

Visitors to Queenstown Airport will now have a more convenient way to pay for car parking following the installation of new technology and Tap & Go facilities earlier this month.

As part of the airport’s continued investment in technology and its car parking infrastructure, new barrier arms and Tap & Go facilities have been installed at the terminal car parks and commercial area.

Queenstown Airport Technology Manager Wayne Stiven said the introduction of new barrier arms was “just the start” of a new wave of technology advancements being unveiled at the airport.

“Tap & Go usage is on the increase and it’s a convenient method of payment that our visitors – especially locals- expect from a world-class international airport,” said Wayne.

Visitors now have the choice of taking a ticket when they enter the car park and paying at the paystation or they can use the Tap & Go service by tapping a valid credit or Visa debit card to the barrier machine on entry and again when leaving through the exit barriers.

There’s no need for a paper ticket or queuing and paying at the paystation; just Tap & Go.

“The additional benefits of this technology includes reducing paper usage by not having tickets and prolonging the life of the barrier machines by not having to print the tickets,” added Wayne.

“Tap & Go is just one of the ways we’re making car parking at the airport more convenient for people. Car parking is an essential part of the travel experience and we believe it should be as easy as possible for people to use.”

Additional technology being implemented at the airport later this month is RFID Technology, which will initially be used by commercial vehicles. RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) refers to small electronic devices that consist of a small chip and an antenna. Each commercial vehicle/driver will be issued with an RFID enabled card featuring a magnetic strip on the back.

Each card is unique to that vehicle/driver and contains useful information such as company name, vehicle registration, billing history, usage etc. The card is automatically scanned by the antenna when a vehicle approaches the barrier arm, enabling automatic entry to the airport, recording the entry on the owner’s unique ID.

“RFID technology will enable us to more efficiently manage our commercial operations and provide a streamlined process for our commercial partners. Later this year we’re looking to use RFID technology to offer our other visitors similar services such as creating online personal car parking accounts,” added Wayne.

“We want to make car parking at Queenstown Airport memorable for the right reasons and by offering our visitors more choice and convenient options for payment, we’re making it easy for people to go about their business. Whether that’s getting away for a well-earned break or picking up family who’re visiting our region,” added Wayne.

Over the last few years Queenstown Airport has felt the pressures related to parking around the airport associated with the significant increase in passenger numbers and community growth.

The airport has been out in the community over the last six months, listening to residents and visitors to help shape the future of car parking and ground transport as passenger and community numbers continue to rise.

ENDS

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